Cat
Biology Sapient Cats are a flexible and rather tough species. They generally are just over 5ft in height and are rather light for their height. Their ribcage is significantly shorter than other patients allowing their lower torso a greater degree of motion. They use their long tail for balance. Most of their teeth are the same as a non sapient cat, aside from a few molars which are slightly flatter. Cats have three fingers and a thumb, four toes, retractable claws, and digitigrade feet. Their ears are triangular, they possess very sensitive whiskers, and their fur color includes shades of white, grey, brown, tan, black, or rarely even orange. Although bichromatic cats are the most common, they may have anywhere from a single color to four colors. Cats are known for having rather unpredictable mood swings. They may be aloof and uncaring, passionate, serious, or kind but are almost always somewhat volatile. They often do not work well with others of their own kind, but can be extremely dangerous when they do manage to cooperate. Wandering and doing odd jobs is common for them, and loose hierarchies are the only form of organization that truly suits them. History "Not an empire in any sense of the word." -Penguin chronicler Varsel Eron. The Felionus Empire was born in the back alleys of western Russia and savage wastes of Siberia. Unlike most nonhuman species that originated on Earth, these cats were not noticed by the strange aliens that took the others away. Cats rarely had the cohesion necessary to unify and produce proper cities, so they were unnoticed by human civilizations. As the Soviet Union solidified its grasp on the region, the Cats went into hiding, waiting for the moment to strike. The arrival of the Penguin Empire on Earth gave the cats a perfect opportunity and their nation was formed with blood and steel. Afterward, there was a prolonged period of uneasy coexistence with the penguins, often broken by little skirmishes and such, and the Cats eventually reached for the stars just as all other nations did beforehand. But while most of the nations flourished as space travel grew more feasible, the Felinus Empire staggered. They could not break free of the old ways, and their government became dystopic and weak. Without superior numbers of hostiles to drive off with reckless fury, they lost much of their national purpose. There were no screaming hordes or calculating enemy generals to face down and force into abject submission. Many families and individuals broke off from the nation and turned to black market trading or outright piracy. Not, of course, that they saw it that way. Few sorts of trades are regulated in the Felinus Empire, let alone forbidden outright, and they had but little respect for the laws of other nations. There was a spikes of unity when the Intergalactic War (2290-2330) gave the Cats the great war they needed, and so they found Felinus-X. The finding of their twin suns and their solitary planet, cold and unappealing to other races, remote and melancholy, did them a world of good. While they knew that eventually they would need to migrate out of this system, it gave them what they sought most: refuge. Refuge from the confusing brave new world around them, a place to raise their children, not a nurturing natural cradle but a tough rock on which to raise hearty and indomitable descendants. Government “The government has no right to act in any manner regarding any of these issues, and cannot 'be expected to, you're on your own.” -Santamarasa’s summary of cat laws. The Felinus Empire exists in a semi-anarchistic state, and most of its citizens like it just fine that way. A key element of the authoritarian hierarchy is the “Laissez-Faire Provision” (commonly referred to as LFP). Foreign traders especially would do well to familiarize themselves with the LFP, as it can save them from scams and even allow them to run some, if they are unscrupulous enough. The LFP is basically a very brief and concise document which uses a mathematical calculation (classified together as the “LFP Applicable Domain” Or LAD) designed by the senate to determine legality of various actions. Cats are organized into units of 1,000 or so, known as “parties”, which citizens can switch to and from at will so long as there is room. Each party has an 8-digit hexadecimal number in place of a name, for instance a party might be named “00e35a2b”. The party elects a leader (re-elections can happen at any time) to represent them in the senate. The Senate consists of 1000 chairs, which of course means that only a tiny portion of the population will be directly represented. Parties then will officially endorse each other, some out of true admiration, some due to bribery or for mutual political gain. The endorsements are in the hands of the political representative (usually called a “captain” for unknown reasons), so a crooked captain can be bad news for the party. However, parties can hold elections whenever they wish, and a simple majority vote by the people can impeach a captain. Every ten years the Senate changes hands; the thousand parties with the strongest outside endorsements at the time send their captains to the Senate to represent for the next ten years. Bribery and corruption are rampant in the weeks, days, hours and minutes leading up to the official count at midnight on the New Year. Senate captains can still be impeached and replaced, so members of senate parties are often known to “sell” their memberships, receiving a hefty bribe for the swap. Rich groups of corporations can sometimes exploit this en masse to spontaneously change the Senate with puppets set up via mass bribing and mass impeachment, but it is a VERY expensive venture, so dealing in endorsements is an easier if more competitive way to corrupt the process. This is all legal due to a large portion of the LAD laws, and while somewhat looked down on, often the dealings are very open, and “selling party spot” isn't an uncommon phrase. This, of course, all makes the endorsements that much more of a racket, even for citizens uninterested in politics. The central government itself, which is for all practical purposes controlled by the Senate, has no problem with this, and no plans are in place to reform the system any time soon. Where business is concerned, the government has some basic fraud laws in place, but the bulk of the LAD provisions are in the area of business. The only crimes the government even recognizes are murder and various types of assault. Abductions and the like are termed legally as various sorts of assault, and the terms “psychological assault” and “freedoms assault” are used often. Invasion or damage to land is also classified as assault, but there are few laws with regards to housing and possessions, and those there are are rarely enforced. It is mainly up to the individual to fortify and defend the land they own from non-violent theft. Taxes are extremely low, and often evaded, but the government is very serious about making a particularly grisly and public example out of those who do not pay. Meanwhile, lacking a strong central government, parties often live together in neighborhoods, sometimes even pooling to buy land. Structured local government within parties is common, and since everyone knows everyone, tends to go smoothly. “Wars” and “raids” between parties are common, but are harshly dealt with if not resolved by the elite Senatorial Guards. The 'military' itself consists of rival companies (five major competing ones comprise most of it), dispensing protection in exchange for the equivalent of taxes. Altogether the Felionus Empire is a flabbergastingly broken and corrupt socio-political system which balances itself out and works decently for most of the citizens by some strange entropic miracle. Diplomacy “Leave us be, and we will leave you be. Fight us, and we will destroy you. Aid us in time of genuine need, and we will not forget you in yours. Trade with us the riches of your lands, and we shall reciprocate, that we may both become stronger.” -Unknown Cat senator. “Laissez-faire” is not a philosophy limited to industry for the Felinus Empire. They have no interest in long-term alliances, but neither are they willing to go to war. With the ability to colonize new planets, and the continuance of their robust physiology, they lost any and all practical motivation to conquer, and they could not anyways, not having enjoyed the viral growth many other nations did. The government doesn't pretend to try and stop their people from preying on other nations, and it will not allow other governments to enact justice on anyone on-planet, but any pirate who is caught in the act cannot expect any sympathy, mercy, or intervention from the Felinus government. It is a bad policy in that other nations are disgusted with their lack of cooperation in culling successful pirates, but those who are inexperienced, careless, or unlucky can by the same token be easily dealt with without fear of enraging the sluggish Felinus government. Religion There is no official or even dominant religion in the Felionus Empire or Cats at large. It's not that they are particularly irreligious, just that they don't have a history of organized religion or a unifying factor that could compel them to share a religion. Most cats just pick up the faiths of other species or are agnostic. Playing a cat. * +3 Agility * +1 Strength * Level 5 Catfall Category:Species